DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF A SALT GRADIENT NON-CONVECTIVE

SOLAR POND
D.K. Dixit
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur – 440 011

Abstract

Design and simulation of a salt-gradient non-convective solar pond has been carried
out for conditions prevailing at Nagpur. The computations have been carried out to
find the theoretical temperature distribution in the non-convective zone of the solar
pond. The surface temperature of the pond is assumed to be equal to the ambient air
temperature. Various parameters are analyzed by assuming the steady-state condition
of the solar pond.

Keywords

Solar Energy; Solar Pond; Large Area Solar Collector; Salt-Gradient Pond; Design
and Simulation.

Introduction

The term ‘solar pond’ connotes different concepts, in all of which water is heated by
the absorption of solar radiation and serve as a thermal storage medium for the
collected energy. As the name suggests, the salt gradient solar pond is one in which a
salinity gradient is established. More specifically, over some range in depth the
concentration of salt dissolved in the water (salinity) increases with depth. A salt
gradient solar pond is a body of water that typically has three regions (from top to
bottom) viz. surface zone, gradient zone and lower zone. The lower zone is a
homogeneous, concentrated salt solution that can be either convecting or temperature
stratified. Above it is the non-convective gradient zone constituting a thermally
insulating layer that contains a salinity gradient such that water closer to the surface is
always less salty than the water below it. The surface zone is a homogeneous layer of
low salinity brine or fresh water. If the salinity gradient is large enough, there is no
convection in the gradient zone even when heat is absorbed in the lower zone and on
the bottom, because the hotter, saltier water at the bottom of the gradient remains
denser than the colder, less salty water above it.

As water is transparent to visible light but opaque to infrared radiation, the energy in
the form of sunlight that reaches the lower zone and is absorbed there can escape only
via conduction. The thermal conductivity of water is moderately low, and if the
gradient zone has substantial thickness, heat escapes upwards from the lower zone

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very slowly. This makes the solar pond both a thermal collector and a long-term
storage device.

Performance investigations on a small experimental solar pond were carried out

earlier (Dixit et al, 1978). A solar pond of 100 m2 area at Nagpur in central India is
designed and simulated. The main aim in the present paper is to present the
theoretical temperature distribution in the non-convective zone of the solar pond.

Simulation Procedure

Assumptions

Since the variation in the solar pond occurs very slowly compared to those of the
surrounding environmental conditions, lumped parameter models are assumed for the
upper convective zone (UCZ), the non-convective zone (NCZ) and the storage zone.
The following assumptions are used in the mathematical model developed to simulate
the solar pond :

1. The pond consists of three zones, the upper convective zone, the non-
convective zone and the lower convective zone.
2. The temperature and density gradients in the non-convective zone are
assumed to be linear.
3. The temperature and density gradients in the upper convective zone and in the
storage zone are uniform and perfectly mixed.
4. The edges of the solar pond are vertical.
5. The heat exchange through the side edges is negligible.
6. The surface zone thickness is 0.3 m and the thickness of non-convective zone
is 0.487 m.

Calculation of Maximum Storage and Surface Zone Temperatures

The equation for the annual temperature variation in a solar pond (Rabl and Nielson,
1975) is
trHg 4 Aj cos r − K 1 . x1
Tu − Ta = ∑ (1 − e j ) − h1(Tu − Ta )
k j=1 Kj
Where
Kj
K 1J =
cos r
Tu = Surface zone temperature in (K)
Ta = Ambient zone temperature for the mean day of the month at the derived location
(K)
t = Transmissivity based on reflection and refraction at the air-water interface
Hg = Monthly average global radiation
K = Thermal conductivity of water = 0.648 W/m K at 50°C (average)
r = angle of refraction

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h1 = Heat transfer coefficient between upper water column and ambient air
= 5.7 + 3.8 V∞ ;
V∞ (average wind velocity)
= 3.885 m/s
Kj = extinction coefficient
x1 = Depth of NCZ-UCZ interface = 0.3m
The value of Hg is calculated for every month by the equation: Hg Ho =a+b
(S/Smax)
Where Ho = Monthly average of daily extra-terrestrial radiation falling on the
horizontal surface at the location under consideration.
A, b = constants depending on the location.
S = Monthly average of the sunshine hours per day at the location = 9.5 h (assumed)
Smax = Monthly average of the maximum possible sunshine hours per day at the
location.
The value of r i.e. the angle of refraction is calculated for every hour of the mean day
and was assumed to be constant for that hour.
Sin(i)/sin (r) = 1.33
where 1.33 is the refractive index of water.
Hence, r = sin-1 [sin i/1.33]
The value of i is given as
cos i = sin Φ sin δ + cos Φ cos δ cos ω
Hence, Φ = Latitude of location = 21.1° for Nagpur
δ = Declination angle
ω = Hour angle.

The computed monthly average values of solar isolation and global radiation are
graphically depicted in Fig. 1. Figure 2 illustrates the variation of monthly average
values of air dry bulb temperature observed and the predicted values of the surface
zone temperature over the year.

Similarly the storage zone temperature can be calculated using the following
equation.
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(Ts − Tu ) = tr Hg k Σ Aj cos r / Kj (1 − e Kjx 3 } − Qst − Qsb > 0
j =1

Where, x3 = 1.287 m [pond depth]

kb
Qst = heat loss to the top from the storage zone. = (Ts − Tu )
(x 2 − x1)
Kb = thermal conductivity of brine solution.
Qsb = heat exchange rate between the storage zone and the ground = UbAb(Ts-Tg)
Where Tg = 22°C (Assumed) and Ub = 1 W/m2 K
The monthly average values of the predicted storage zone temperature are presented
in Fig.3.

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Conclusion

The computed values of upper zone and storage zone temperatures agree reasonably
well with the results obtained for a solar pond in Kuwait (Ali, 1986).

References

Ali, H.M. (1986). Mathematical modeling of salt gradient solar pond performance
Energy Research, 10, 377-384.
Dixit, D.K., B.D. Shiwalkar and V.M. Dokras (1978). Some studies on an
experimental solar pond. Proc ISES Solar World Congress, New Delhi, India.
Rabl, A. and C.E. Nielsen (1975). Solar ponds for space heating. Solar Energy, 17, 1-
12.